Thursday, August 25, 2011

Vintage Paris!

I've really been enjoying this week's focus on May Arts and Our Craft Lounge! One of the things that has been fun about it is the variety! The ribbons and fibers the generous folks at May Arts shared with me ranged from cutesie, happy polka-dots to rustic jute, elegant velvet, organza, and tinsel. This gorgeous lace and rich velvet combo is one of my favorites!

Do you have stuff that just sits in your stash for ages, waiting and waiting for the right moment? I have had these swirly Prima pearls for a really long time, and finally found the perfect occasion to use them. They brought forth the old world elegance that I was hoping for with this lovely vintage image of the Eiffel Tower from OCL's Vintage Traveler. I have only been to Europe once, and am grateful to say that this was one of our stops! Sooooo romantic! :)

The background print from Basic Grey's Oxford designer paper pad is reminiscent of a beautiful brocade traveler's bag. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink to stamp some other images from Vintage Traveler collage-style onto a layer of card stock, then tea-dye inked and distressed everything, machine stitching the background layer to draw the eye to its worn, frayed edges.

The blossom accent is actually from May Arts' beautiful chiffon wedding floral ribbon with wired edges...I snipped the stitching to remove the flower and replaced its single pearl center with a cluster of pearls to match my pretty Prima pearl swirly. A few strategically placed mini-glue-dots helped shape the petals into something resembling a dogwood blossom.

Once again, remember to visit the Lounge and the May Arts blog for more inspiration and details on entering for a prize! (My apologies to those of you who are having trouble leaving comments on my blog. Blogger seems to be intermittently having trouble, and I'm not sure what the solution is! Some have suggested logging out and commenting anonymously, leaving your name/email within your comment, although even this workaround seems not to be consistently working!)